LaPine State Park

I’m not a fan of Oregon State Parks since they went 95% on-line reservations only. I ended up here by happenstance and a “one night only” was available so I took it because I was tired of driving and the nearby BLM area was closed.

Typical state park, but I hate how the whole system is now rigged to rip off campers. You can only be sure of getting a spot if you reserve well in advance, and then you have to pay an extra $8 reservation fee. They do have a few walk up sites, but they are in the full hookup section, so you will be paying the maximum amount even if you don’t need electric/water/dump. I don’t need ANY hookups but still had to pay for an electric site because they don’t have ANY dry camping. They are catering to well-off, anal retentive campers whose lives are so regimented, they can plan 6 months in advance. Meanwhile, NF campgrounds and BLM site are closing down by all over the place. So disappointing.
This campground right on the Dechutes River, but you won’t see it or hear it because, even though it looks like some campsites are right on the River (on the campground map), they are not any where near it. You have to hike down to it to see it.
No-one is in the booth when you drive up, everything is self serve or you have to call the reservation line. Typical “amenities” including dump, water, showers. Sites are very close together. Total meh.

Went here for the hook-ups after boondocking near Bend for 2 weeks. This spot is only about 30 minutes from Bend. No issues with hookups or our site. The camp was really busy and spots are close to each other but there are lots of trees to create privacy. Major downer for me was no cell signal - I work remotely so I took the short drive to McGregor View Point to get enough service to use my phone as a hotspot for my laptop. I also drove to Brewed Awakenings in Sunriver for coffee, WiFi and the nearby grocery store.
Our toddler loved playing in the river at one of the nearby day use areas. Firewood bundles were only $5 👍

La Pine State Park is a beauty in the desert! Combine the heat and lack of rain of the eastern desert with sme lush scenic views along the Deschutes River. It is not our first choice style of camping, we like more remote isolated stuff, but every now and then we need a reservation site and this one fit the bill for a couple nights while on a longer road trip. And it is open year round! We made a late reservation and got site 136 when someone made a cancellation. This site backs up to the main road and sits right at the park entrance but it was surprisingly private for the less than ideal location. We especially loved being able to ride our bikes on trails right from camp!

This was our first time at La Pine State Park and we only had one night scheduled there, but we will certainly be back. The campground was lovely, with large shady sites, most spread out and with enough vegetation to provide some privacy. The campground has 81 full hook-up sites (sewer, 50 amp electric, and water), 48 electric/water sites, and 10 cabins arranged in three large loops.

Sites have a picnic table and firepit. Showers and bathrooms are centrally located in each loop. The Middle and South loops have back-in sites along the outside of the loop and pull-throughs on the inside. There is also a fenced off-leash area, but we never made it there because Riley had a blast playing in the river.

There is easy access to the Deschutes River and hiking/mountain bike trails. We rode about 12 miles mostly on single track through forest and along the river and I can attest that the trails are fun for even a novice mountain biker! Visit the “Big Tree”, a 500 year-old Oregon Heritage Tree and largest Ponderosa pine in Oregon.

While there is plenty to do right in the campground, there are even more opportunities in the area. On our list for next time is the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, the High Desert Museum, and a trip to Bend (Crux Brewery sundowner!). 😊

The only downside, we had only 1 bar of Verizon 3G.

Overall, this is a beautiful Oregon State Park that's a terrific bargain for its full hookups and location (as we learned even more researching other states!) The biggest challenges were that we had absolutely no cell signal so our phones and Verizon jet pack didn't work and that

We stayed at LaPine in August when that part of Oregon was burdened with many wildfires so didn't get to enjoy as much outside as we wanted but we were really impressed with all the sites to see in the park (easy access to the Deschutes River, huge trees, and trails) and nearby with the Newberry National Volcanic Monument (the Obsidian Flow Trail and Paulina Creek Falls are terrific sites to name a few.) Bend is not too far of a drive either- a straight shot up a highway that never seems to get too congested!

Dog-Friendliness: we stayed in the South loop right across from a green space so we had a nice place to walk every day and many of our fellow campers brought their pups.

Runner's Rave: because of the smoke, I only did a couple short runs but there was a nice wide main road and the trails looked like great spots for trail running.

Downsides: we had heard that there was no cell signal but were a little surprised at how true that was in every part of the park so be prepared to be totally off-the-grid. We heard they are building a new Verizon tower nearby so hopefully that helps address the issue for folks like us who needed a little connection. Secondly, we loved the size of the sites but at least in ours, the sewer hook-up was on a slope that required some crazy engineering to get the set-up to work. Finally, be wary of the chipmunks- we met a couple that really liked hanging out in our grill grease pit.

Overall, we really enjoyed the peacefulness of the park, the terrific location, and the value - if only the Verizon tower would get built a little quicker and the chipmunks would be a little less aggressive!

The Oregon State parks are all exceedingly well maintained, and LaPine State Park is no exception. Scores of sites spread out over three large loops, and around 10 cabins too. Just over 20 miles south of Ben, 4 miles off of Route 97, LaPine is everything you hope for. Vast open pine forests, with a scattering of Ponderosas, and the large Deschutes River winding its way from bend to bend alongside and past the park.

Wifi is nonexistent, and the cell signal is fairly weak — so make sure you have booster if you need to get online at all. Otherwise, just head up the road 5 miles to the small town of Sunriver for a good coffee and wifi.

There are day trips aplenty too -- Mt. Bachelor and Paulina Peak to name just a few. Easy and stunning.

We loved the time we spent at LaPine State Park. We had a full hookup site with 50-amp, sewer, and water for $26 a night in a serene wooded setting. The campground was extremely well maintained, the showers and restrooms were clean and nice. There were lots of hikes we could do right from our Airstream, though it rained most of the time we were there so we didn't do much.

The only negative of this place (and why it is 4 stars instead of 5) is that we had only 1 bar LTE on Verizon and it did NOTHING. Even with our booster, we couldn't get most web pages to load. So you will be 100% without connectivity while you are here. We drove into LaPine for signal and groceries one of the days.

Even without cell service, we would stay again for a nice, full hook-up overnight.